The effects of drinking alcohol

No amount of Alcohol (ethanol) is good for us.... let me just put that out in the first sentence if you do not want to read down.

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There seems to be a constant flow of media stories regarding the health benefits of X units of alcohol per day/week, most media stories are backed by flimsy statistical evidence that rarely backs their claims.... so why do the media even print this nonsense? Because it makes people like us read their article and express an opinion, these opinions seem to drive their revenue streams in advertisement or product placement.

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[blockquote align="none" author=""]No scientist worth their salt that would say that alcohol mixed with non alcohol makes the non alcoholic component any healthier[/blockquote]

Ever heard Red Wine is good for you? Why not cross reference Grape Juice to see if you get a similar results, much like apple juice for cider etc

If Alcohol is not healthy for us, is it more of a neutral health drink?

Most mixed alcoholic drinks contain large amount of empty calories, these empty calories are great for those that are not looking to loose weight but if your looking to shift a few extra kilos, 300 calories for two glasses of wine isn't going to help towards evening out your hormonal balance if your cutting to 1500 calories !

Lastly we know that Alcohol is a carcinogen... as in it is proven to cause cancer. We know that alcohol is THE largest cancer causing substance in our diets, let alone the kidney and liver damage one expects after years of abuse

[blockquote align="none" author=""]If Alcohol was created today, it would be illegal [/blockquote]

• 3.8% of all global deaths and 4.6% of the global burden of disease (measured in disability-adjusted life-years) are estimated to be attributable to alcohol (Rehm et al 2009).

• Between 600 and 800 people in New Zealand have been estimated to die each year from alcoholrelated causes (Berl 2009; Connor et al, 2013).

• In New Zealand, more than half (52%) of alcoholrelated deaths in males and one-quarter (25%) of alcohol-related deaths in females are estimated to be due to injuries (Connor et al, 2013).

• Between 18% and 35% of injury-based emergency department presentations are estimated to be alcohol-related, rising to between 60% and 70% during the weekend (Jones et al., 2009; Humphrey et al., 2003).

• Approximately one-third of all Police apprehensions involve alcohol

• Half of serious violent crimes are related to alcohol

• Over 300 alcohol-related offences are committed every day

So whenever you read that a small amount of alcohol is good for you, remember Mikes Law. NO AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IS GOOD FOR YOU. However a healthy non pregnant individual can take calculated risks. I for one do not mind 1-2 glasses of wine or a couple ciders once a week with food and good company.